Larry Pryor’s Monster Game Leads Sulphur Springs Past Pine Tree, 56-28

[By Anthony Hawthorne, Special to ETSN.fm]

LONGVIEW -- Larry Pryor spent the 2012 season as a ball-hawking safety, earning the recognition and offers from numerous FBS schools.

This season he’s added the role of quarterback to his resume, and it seems to be going fairly well.

The junior accounted for seven touchdowns, added an interception on defense and led an offense that racked up 722 yards in a 56-28 victory over District 14-4A foe Pine Tree on Friday night at Pirate Stadium.

Pryor completed 15 of his 26 passes for 311 yards and 5 TDs, hooking up with Isaiah Lacy for three of those scores, and added 175 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. His backfield mate Willy Ivery was elusive as always, racking up 186 yards and a score on 20 carries.

The Sulphur Springs (5-3, 2-1) offense showed its balance throughout the night, with an improving passing game leading the way in a dominant first half.

Pryor accounted for all five of the Wildcats first-half scores, three of which came through the air. The Pryor-to-Lacy connection created the first two scores on the night, covering 52 and 54 yards, respectively, on the Wildcats first two possessions.

The Pirates responded through the air themselves with Mason Hays, in only his second start at quarterback, finding Dalvin Manns, who avoided three Wildcat defenders before going across field for a 66-yard score.

The duo found success throughout the night as Manns, who entered the game with more than 1,700 yards passing and 13 TDs at quarterback, was moved to receiver, where he had eight catches for 144 yards.

The Wildcats came right back as Pryor found the end zone from 52 yards out on a run that saw him break several tackles and barrel over defenders on his way to paydirt.

The Wildcats defense would get a turnover on downs at their own 4-yard line, the second first-half red-zone opportunity the Pirates squandered, and Pryor would strike again just four plays later.

This time his target was Dillon Carpenter, who would make his only catch on the night a big one, going for 52 yards and a score. Pryor would tack on his second rushing score of the night, this one from 15 yards out to give the Wildcats a 36-7 lead at the half.

The Pirates (3-6, 0-4), losers of six of their last seven, made things interesting for a bit in the second half as the sloppy play of the Wildcats to start the third quarter resulted in three scores, closing the gap to a two possession game which is as close as the Pirates would get.

After forcing a three-and-out the Pirates drove 77 yards with freshman running back Quay Henderson scoring from 3 yards out, followed by a Hays score from 11 yards out that followed a Wildcats fumble.

The Wildcats would move the ball 61 yards in just under a minute to respond with Ivery capping the drive with a 16-yard score. The senior tailback would add an 8-yard touchdown reception in the fourth. Pryor would close his night out finding Lacy for the third time, this one from 61 yards, giving the receiver five catches for 183 yards and three touchdowns.

Hays would add another score for the Pirates from 75 yards away, this one to Jonathan Giddings who had a stellar second half, finishing the night with five catches for 157 yards and a score.

Hays finished the night 21 of 35 for 399 yards and two touchdowns, adding 115 yards and a score on the ground despite being under pressure most of the night from defensive lineman Garrett Hood, who had three sacks for Sulphur Springs.

Sulphur Springs returns to action at home next week to host Marshall while Pine Tree travels to Mount Pleasant.

Sulphur Springs 56, Pine Tree 28
Pirate Stadium, Longview

Sulphur Springs   21   15     7   13 -- 56
Pine Tree               7     0    21     0 -- 28

First Quarter
SS – Larry Pryor 52-yard pass to Isaiah Lacy (2-PT Failed) 9:42
SS – Pryor 54-yard pass to Lacy (Pryor Run 2-PT) 5:16
PT – Mason Hays 66-yard pass to Dalvin Manns (Kevin Jimenez Kick) 3:22
SS – Pryor 52-yard run (Ryan Watson Kick) 2:44
Second Quarter
SS – Pryor 52-yard pass to Dillon Carpenter (Willy Ivery pass to Alex Burney 2-PT) 8:07
SS – Pryor 15-yard run (Watson Kick) 4:33
Third Quarter
PT – Quay Henderson 3-yard run (Jimenez Kick) 7:00
PT – Hays 11-yard run (Jimenez Kick) 3:07
SS – Ivery 16-yard run (Watson Kick) 2:21
PT – Hays 75-yard pass to Jonathan Giddings (Jimenez Kick) 2:07
Fourth Quarter
SS – Pryor 8-yard pass to Ivery (Watson Kick) 11:15
SS – Pryor 61-yard pass to Lacy (Kick Failed) 9:41

                                 SS            PT
First Downs               18            18
Total Yards                722          539
Rushes-Yards           46-411     34-140
Passing Yards           311           399
Comp-Att-Int             15-26-0    21-38-1
Penalties-Yards         4-36         11-90
Fumbles-Lost             3-2           3-1
Punts-Avg 1-51 3-35

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Sulphur Springs, Willy Ivery 20-186 (1 TD) Larry Pryor 16-175 (2 TD) Parker Aguilar 4-33. Pine Tree, Mason Hays 18-115 (1 TD) Quay Henderson 11-24 (1 TD) Dalvin Manns 1-1
PASSING – Sulphur Springs, Larry Pryor 15-26--311 (5 TD) Parker Aguilar 1-2--3. Pine Tree, Mason Hays 21-35--399 (2 TD) Caleb Chumley 0-1--0 (1 INT) Qway Henderson 0-1--0 Dalvin Manns 0-1--0.
RECEIVING – Sulphur Springs, Isaiah Lacy 5-183 (3 TD) Willy Ivery 2-14 (1 TD) Alex Burney 3-31 Dillon Carpenter 1-52 (1 TD) Mitchell Deyong 3-28 Parker Heath 1-3. Pine Tree, Quay Henderson 2-2 Caleb Chumley 2-14 (1 TD) Dalvin Manns 8-144 (1 TD) Stefen Pentecost 4-42 Jonathan Giddings 5-157 (1 TD)